Who was Muhammad Ali?

Muhammad Ali landed not a single effective blow. Only the opponent’s restraint saved him from a knockdown. Ali’s trainer ended the fight after ten rounds. Ali had to endure his first and only early defeat.

Ali did not want to end his career this way. In the USA, however, they no longer allowed him to box. Therefore, on December 11, 1981, he faced Trevor Berbick in the Bahamas. He was already heavily marked by his illness and lost by points.

Successes
Even as an amateur, Muhammad Ali achieved some successes. He became the U.S. amateur light heavyweight champion in 1959 and 1960. He won the Golden Gloves in 1959 in the light heavyweight category and in 1960 in the heavyweight category. He became the Olympic champion in the light heavyweight category in 1960.

Among the greatest successes in the professional career were:

undisputed heavyweight champion three times
linear heavyweight champion three times
Ring Magazine heavyweight champion three times
once NYSAC heavyweight champion
four times WBA heavyweight champion
twice WBC heavyweight champion
three times NABF North American Heavyweight Champion
Illness and Death
The Parkinson’s disease was diagnosed in Muhammad Ali as early as 1984. The disease is often associated with boxing, but this has never been proven.

His mental abilities seemed to have been hardly affected by the illness. Worldwide, Ali continued to participate in public life. He was also involved in charitable causes, including promoting understanding between the Western and Islamic worlds.

He has primarily appeared as an ambassador of Islam since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2021, representing the peaceful aspects of the religion.

Muhammad Ali died on June 3, 2016, in a hospital in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA. He was treated for breathing problems and suffered a septic shock.

Muhammad Ali is buried in his hometown of Louisville. The burial took place on 10 June 2006. Special guests included Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson, actor Will Smith, and former US President Bill Clinton.

Honors and Awards
Muhammad Ali received various honors and awards. As one of the first boxers, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. He lit the Olympic flame in Atlanta in 1996.

The International Olympic Committee chose Muhammad Ali as Sportsman of the Year in 1996. In 2001, he received the highest civilian award in the USA, the Presidential Citizens Medal.

As the first American, Muhammad Ali received the Otto Hahn Peace Medal in Gold in 2005 from the German United Nations Association in Berlin.

Outstanding awards that Muhammad Ali received include the Bambi in 2003, the Freedom Medal in 2005, the honorary doctorate from Columbia University in New York, and the honorary doctorate from Princeton University in 2007